Meghan Markle has decided to abandon her 17-month battle for the “Archetypes” trademark amid the looming threat of a lawsuit from another company. The Duchess withdrew her trademark offer over fears of possible legal action.
The move comes after his multi-million pound Spotify deal was canceled earlier in June when it was announced that the ‘Archetypes’ podcast would not be renewed for a second season. Sources linked to the couple’s £15 million deal signed in 2020 revealed it was scrapped due to insufficient content production, with Spotify exec Bill Simmons going so far as to describe Meghan and Harry as “crooks”.
Despite the Spotify deal falling through, Meghan had attempted to revive her trademark application for “Archetypes”, but that application has now been officially withdrawn after 17 months of unsuccessfully fighting to protect the name.
Meghan’s efforts to trademark “Archetypes” began in March of the previous year, when the initial application was filed. However, in January, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected it, citing possible confusion with an existing trademark with the same name. This earlier trademark for “Archetypes” was registered in May 2018 by a US-based company called Project Miracle IP Holdings.
They registered it with the aim of providing online content such as blogs, non-downloadable posts, articles on various topics including nutrition, fitness, psychology, relationships, dating, etc. The obstacle faced by Meghan’s trademark application stemmed from her inability to provide concrete examples of its use in each class of service, a requirement for trademark registration. Lack of evidence appears to have led to the withdrawal of the application.
This raises the question of whether Meghan and Harry will be able to meet these requirements over the next six months, as they have struggled to do so over the past two years of extensions. Some are predicting a possible attempt at rebranding, given the apparent difficulties in meeting the criteria needed to register a trademark.
This recent development highlights the challenges Meghan Markle faces in pursuing the “Archetypes” brand and the consequences of her actions on various fronts, including her professional endeavors and public perception.
